Photo - Kassity Boor
The Fort Campbell Falcons will get the chance to play their first home football playoff game in a decade. The Falcons earned the right with a 24-14 road district win at Todd County Central Friday night. With the win, the Falcons have locked up at least the two-seed in the district.
After a bye week next Friday, the Falcons will travel to Steele Stadium in Owensboro on October 20 to take on Owensboro Catholic with the top seed in the district on the line.
The last time the Falcons played at home in the postseason was November 8, 2013, when they handled Edmonson County in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs 48-16.
The Falcons used a combination of a solid ground attack, timely passing, and one critical moment of trickery to pick up the win and upset Homecoming night for the Rebels and their fans.
The night did not start off promisingly for the Falcons. Todd Central defensive standout Kamari Harris came up with a fumble recovery just 90 seconds into the game and gave the Rebels field position at the Falcon 31. However, a bad snap on the very next play cost the Rebels yardage and they would end up not taking advantage of the early break and punting the ball away.
Fort Campbell drove the ball down the field and scored when J.P. Perryman found Maurice Moore crossing the end zone from 13 yards out with 3:12 to go in the first, putting the Falcons up 7-0. The big play of the drive was a big fourth-down pickup by Perryman to keep the drive alive.
A long kickoff return from Antonio Fitzgerald put the Rebels right back in business at the Fort Campell 31. This time, Todd Central did take advantage and evened the score at 7-7 on a Quinton Grace 2-yard run with 20 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Fort Campbell did not wait long to get back in front. Perryman and Moore connected for their second TD of the night on a 29-yard touchdown with 10:03 to go in the half and the Falcons moved back out in front 14-7.
A quick series and a short punt for Todd County Central gave the Falcons the ball back at midfield with 8:15 left in the half. Up stepped Kamari Harris again. The big Rebel defender separated Perryman from the ball and the Rebels recovered at the Fort Campbell 35 with 7:58 left in the half. But again, the Rebels did not convert and the Falcons would extend their lead to 17-7 with a field goal with just 12 seconds left in the half.
As the second half got underway, it was the Falcons who missed an opportunity, and this one could have likely been a knockout blow. After stopping the Rebels on their opening possession of the second half, the Falcons blocked the punt and recovered at the Todd County 25.
Fort Campbell could not move the ball and had to settle for a 38-yard field goal attempt, which never got close, as the Rebels stayed in the game.
Todd Central went on a long drive and made the Falcons pay for not converting the opportunity. The Rebels’ drive was capped off with a one-yard run from Miles Reding to cut the lead to 17-14 with 3:44 left in the third quarter.
The Rebels appeared to have all the momentum going their way after stopping the Falcons on the next possession. But then came the two biggest plays of the night over the next few moments.
Miles Reding was stripped of the ball with :55 left in the third quarter, giving Fort Campbell the ball at their own 42.
The Falcons moved the ball into Rebel territory but the drive bogged down at the Todd Central 42-yard line. J.P. Perryman went back into punt formation for the Falcons, but instead of punting the ball, he took off and rambled for a 42-yard touchdown to push the lead out to 24-14 with 9:38 to go in the half.
Each team had chances after that to get into the end zone, but the defenses came up with plays when they needed to and turned the other team away.
Fort Campbell finished with 364 total yards, 148 passing, and 216 rushing. Perryman was the leading rusher with 119 yards and a touchdown. Keshawn Dixon finished with 99 yards.
Maurice Moore was nearly unstoppable for the Falcons. The speedy receiver caught nine passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
The Rebels finished with 263 total yards, 109 passing and 154 rushing. Quinton Grace had 78 yards and a touchdown and Miles Reding had 66 yards and a score.
The win was the fourth in a row for the Falcons, who improve to 5-3 on the season. Fort Campbell is off next Friday and travels to Owensboro Catholic the following week.
Todd County Central drops to 3-5 with the loss. The Rebels are also off next week. They will travel to Edmonson County the following week with the #3 seed in the district on the line.
